TTC Chair Adam Giambrone standing next to tunnel boring machine

October 2009

The TTC officially announced the purchase of four tunnel boring machines at the LOVAT Inc. factory in Etobicoke where the machines are being manufactured. The cost of the contract is $58.4 million.

“This is another step forward in getting the Spadina extension into service and getting more people out of single-occupant cars and onto public transit,” said Ontario Transportation Minister Jim Bradley.

He was accompanied by TTC Chair Adam Giambrone and York Regional Chair Bill Fisch in making the joint announcement on Aug. 7.

The four machines will be used to tunnel the Toronto-York Spadina Subway Extension.

The first pair of borers is scheduled to arrive in late 2010 and will start tunnelling from the proposed Sheppard West and Steeles West stations. The second pair is expected to be delivered in early 2011.

The total cost of the 8.6-km extension is estimated at $2.6 billion and is expected to be complete in 2015. The project is jointly funded by the Government of Canada, the Province of Ontario, the City of Toronto and The Regional Municipality of York.